META is trying to make WhatsApp more secure by blocking other users from screenshotting your profile photo.
It acts as another layer of privacy on the platform in stopping users from being able to take other people’s profile pictures as their own.
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Impersonation and phishing scams – as with any messenger or social media platform – are rife on WhatsApp.
The ability to block screenshots will stop cyber crooks from exploiting people who show their face on their profile.
WhatsApp has been trying to stamp this out for years.
Streaming apps like Netflix and Disney+ have had a screenshot block built into their apps for years, in a bid to halt piracy and spoilers.
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The upcoming feature was discovered in the most recent beta version of WhatsApp for Android, WABetaInfo reported.
This version is currently only available to beta testers.
Beta testers are people who test new devices and software before a company rolls them out to their global usership – and you can become one yourself.
The new feature can be turned off and on in the Settings menu under the Privacy tab, according to Tom’s Guide.
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Once switched on, users will be met with a pop-up notification stating they cannot screen shot “due to app restrictions”.
It’s unclear whether the app can detect and block someone trying to screen record a profile photo.
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WhatsApp introduced the option to stop users from saving others’ profile picture about five years ago with the intention of preventing bad actors.
But the ability to screenshot on smartphones unwound that effort.
Therefore the ability to block screenshots on certain areas of the app can boost people’s privacy, and perhaps curb some of the identity fraud on the platform.
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